


Coffee Days are My Favorite Days

by moon1ightknight



Category: Lost in Translation (Webcomic)
Genre: Asking Out, Cringe, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, but cringier, coffee days, idk man, not edited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:21:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28872990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon1ightknight/pseuds/moon1ightknight
Summary: “I don’t… I don’t think that’s a possibility. There’s no way he likes me like that,” Dae said, punctuating his sentence with a glance at his phone in his hand. Jun understood well enough what he was implying with that look, staring at the blonde blankly for a moment.“You don’t… actually believe the scandals, do you?” Jun eventually deadpanned.
Relationships: Ahn Jaewon | Wyld/Kim Daehyun
Comments: 3
Kudos: 51





	Coffee Days are My Favorite Days

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt for this fic was "A major protagonist must ask a minor protagonist for help." Sorry it turned out so wonky, I apparently have a better angst voice than fluff voice. Here we are anyways

Dae never was able to rid himself of a vague sense of disappointment after his first outing to Coffee Days with Jaewon had been cut short. Generally, the whole encounter had been painfully awkward, and he wanted nothing more than a redo. 

Scratch that- what he actually wanted more than nothing was to get to know Jaewon better, to understand the weird discrepancies in his personality. But hey, maybe he could make them go hand in hand.This epiphany occurred to him one day after being particularly frustrated by the older boy’s strangeness, and he wasted no time in approaching the redhead. 

“Hyung!” He greeted, startling Jaewon who sat on the couch. Jaewon looked up at him with his wide, deer eyes, silently waiting for Daehyun to continue as the blonde took a seat on the other end of the couch. “Can we go get coffee?”

Jaewon’s brow furrowed in confusion. It was understandable- after all, normally Jaewon was the one to actively seek out caffeine to feed his addiction, not Dae. “Go get coffee?” 

Dae nodded enthusiastically, not seeming thrown off by Jaewon’s confusion and hesitation. “I was just thinking about how last time you seemed excited to introduce me to your friends, but I had to leave early. I felt really guilty about that, by the way… And I want to make it up to you.” 

Jaewon tilted his head curiously. He understood the line of reasoning, but he didn’t understand why this was coming up suddenly. “Okay… Okay, sure.” Jaewon grins after a moment of contemplation- this is the perfect way to make good on his promise to hang out with Mayhem more, and he wouldn’t mind an iced americano right now. “Let’s go.” 

***

This visit, Daehyun made sure to be even more observant than his personality typically led him to be. He takes careful notice of each and every detail of their coffee shop, Jaewon’s behavior, the other patrons, etc. Really, he was just desperate for anything that would help him understand Jaewon better, hungry for clues into his true personality. (What better place tp do that than where Jaewon goes to find comfort?)

The first and main thing that Daehyun focused on was Jun. He thought back to their first visit here, where Jaewon had been telling Dae how he had a friend who worked here that was super nice. Honestly, when he had first seen Jun, he was startled at the contrast between Jaewon’s description and… well… Jun. He was kind of terrified at first. Can you blame him, though? The dark-haired male looked as if he could punt him from the universe with nothing more than a glare. 

He noticed, though, the stark contrast in Jun’s behavior when he interacted with Jaewon. He noticed the gentle reassuring smiles, where anyone else got nothing more than a cold gaze. He noticed how Jun was aware of the customers around them, thinking of safety where Jaewon was more than oblivious. Noticing these things, Dae understood exactly where Jaewon had been coming from.

He was still terrified of Jun, though. Deep down, at least. 

***

At first, buried under the layer of thinly veiled intimidation, Dae could feel a strange sort of jealousy directed at the barista. It didn’t make sense- he was never the possessive type, but every time they visited the coffee shop from there on out, Dae felt the strangest urge to make sure Jun  _ knew  _ that Jaewon was his dear friend. 

It was childish, really, but-

Oh. 

Wait a minute.

It was with a sudden realization that it occurred to Dae that he was crushing. He was crushing  _ hard _ , and of course he was an oblivious idiot to it. (That was basically the law of the universe when it came to Dae understanding his feelings, wasn’t it? He was painfully oblivious until they came back to whack him directly in the face.)

Maybe this weird realization is why he found himself standing outside Coffee Days the day after a fresh Wyld scandal- one completed with very incriminating photo evidence and a stab to Dae’s heart. 

When he entered, Nari greeted him with a smile. If she took note of Jaewon’s absence, though, she was kind enough not to mention it for fear of poking an open wound. 

Unfortunately- or maybe fortunately?- Jun never cared as much about subtleties. After a moment of Dae standing awkwardly next to the counter in the otherwise empty coffee shop, Jun appeared with his coffee in hand. Instead of handing it to him though, Jun met Dae’s eyes with a cold, piercing gaze. 

“How’s Jaewon doing?” He asked, and-

Well, it wasn’t clear who was more startled by the question, Dae or Jun himself. 

Of course, they both knew that it wasn’t a random idle question. 

Jun had seen the headlines this morning, then. 

Dae couldn’t bring himself to bullshit some answer, so he just smiled weakly and shrugged. “Ah, well…”

Thankfully, Jun cut him off before Dae could stammer on for too long. “You know,” he began, and put Dae’s coffee on the counter between them. “He obviously likes you.” 

And, well- what is there for Dae to do other than gape in surprise?

Some hopeful part of him turned the idea over in his mind for a moment. Would- would it be possible? How could Jun tell? Was… was that why Jaewon kept bringing him to get coffee after that first time? Was it an excuse to hang out with him because he liked him-

And then, like a sudden red light, Dae remembered last night’s scandal. Suddenly, his entire train of thought was halted and any trace of hope dissipated. He looked down at his shoes instead of at Jun. 

“I don’t… I don’t think that’s a possibility. There’s no way he likes me like that,” Dae said, punctuating his sentence with a glance at his phone in his hand. Jun understood well enough what he was implying with that look, staring at the blonde blankly for a moment. 

“You don’t… actually believe the scandals, do you?” Jun eventually deadpanned. 

There’s a beat of silence. 

And another.

And, as those words sink into Dae’s mind, making its home in the core of his existence, he realizes with a sickening sense of guilt that he has to face what he’d been too scared to admit that he knew for years. 

“No… No, I don’t.” 

Jun nodded, grabbing a rag from the counter and turning to return to his job. Before leaving for the back room, he spoke up once more. “I think you’re exactly what he needs right now.” Then, never being a man of many words, he left it at that and disappeared to return to his job. 

Dae was forced to mull over that conversation for the next few days. 

***

A week later, Dae returned to the coffee shop alone for the second time. He’d asked Minsoo to hold up Jaewon at dance practice for a bit to make sure Jaewon didn’t try to tag along. Minsoo, bless him, was extremely confused and yet was the supportive hyung he tried hard to be and obliged. Gratefully, Dae slipped away immediately after practice and headed to Coffee Days. He couldn’t risk Jaewon catching him doing this, or his plan would be ruined. 

He didn’t stay long, and what exactly transpired between Jun, Nari, and Dae, none of the three would ever tell. However, after not even fifteen minutes, Dae while waving goodbye to a tired Jun and an excited Nari- who, now, were conspiring with him like partners in crime. 

Well, maybe not crime- but definitely the most wholesome of schemes, should it work out. 

An hour later, Daehyun returned with the older red-head in tow. Nari turned at the sound of the door opening, and greeted the two idols with a wide smile. 

“Jaewon! Daehyun! I was wondering if I’d see you two today.” 

Perfect- not a hint of recognition of having seen Dae moments before in sight. 

Dae smiled brightly and ordered for him and Jaewon without thinking, then stopped short at the look Jaewon was giving him. 

“What’s wrong, hyung?” he questioned, unsure. Suddenly, he was rethinking every choice he had made that day. 

“You know my order?” Jaewon asked with an innocent tilt of his head. Dae felt his whole face flush. 

“Ah- I’m sorry, did you want something else- I can-”

Jaewon stopped him with a shake of his head and a wide smile. “No, no, you’re fine! I just… thought that was really nice.” They locked eyes for a moment, and then both look away with gentle red tints to their cheeks. (Neither one notices that the other is blushing too.)

When Jun passed over their coffees, Dae grabbed Jaewon by the wrist and led him to a table next to the window. He waited until they were both sitting down before he nodded at Jaewon’s coffee, eyes locked on something written on the cardboard sleeve. 

“What’s that?” 

God, Dae was a bad actor- thankfully, though, Jaewon was innocent enough to never read into others’ behavior unless they were acting very,  _ very  _ strange, so Dae was able to get away with it. Jaewon looked at the cup sleeve with a furrowed brow. 

“A… phone number…” he responded, voice quiet with confusion. “I don’t understand? I know Jun didn’t write it, I saw him make the coffee.”

Without waiting for a response from Dae, Jaewon pulled out his phone and brought up the contacts app. He scrolled through the depressingly barren contacts until he found Jun’s, then clicked on it to bring up the barista’s phone number. 

“They’re not even the same number.”

Dae innocently bit at his lip, face the epitome of confused curiosity. 

“What happens if you text it?”

Jaewon hums in both acknowledgement and curiosity, opening a brand new text message and typing in the number. When he clicked to compose a text message, though, his phone loaded a very familiar text history. (It was mostly filled with links to the randomest Tiktoks.)

Wordlessly, Jaewon looked up at Daehyun with an expression that was pure  _ confusion. _

“I- I’m sorry this is weird, I didn’t plan this out beyond this? I just thought of cute coffee shop stories and thought I should… Ah- I like you, Jaewon.” Dae rushed out breathlessly, stumbling over his words again and again. Jaewon stared at him with wide eyes, as usual. 

“I like you too?”

Dae’s eyes lit up for just a moment, and then they were struck with realization and his look was replaced with that of amusement. 

“No, I mean I  _ like _ you.” 

For a moment, it’s unclear what was redder: Jaewon’s cheeks or his hair. 

There’s a beat of silence, and it’s the most agonizing thing Dae has ever had to sit through. He feels dread starting to coil itself around his lungs, squeezing them into tight, painful knots before Jaewon’s voice liberates them and he can breathe again. 

“I- oh. I- I mean, I… I still like you, then. Like that, too.” 

Neither knew what to say for a moment as they stared at each other. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, Dae jumped out of his seat to pull his hyung, who still sat at the other side of the table, into a hug. 

Jaewon was crying?

Daehyun didn’t understand. 

He held him closer. 

They stayed there for a long while. 

***

After that, the two maknaes of Mayhem fell into a happy dynamic together. It wasn’t perfect- both still had secrets they wouldn’t be ready to share in a long time. The scandals still happened, but the night of every one, Jaewon would come home and curl up in Dae’s arms to cry. Dae still felt a pang of hurt at every headline before remembering what he understood, even without confirmation, to be the truth. 

They both still felt pain, but they felt their pain together. 

What made everything worth it at the end of the day is that yes, they felt pain together, but they also felt their happiness together, amplified in intensity by the other’s mere presence. They made coffee dates a regular thing, Coffee Days becoming a place of comfort and safety outside of their idol lives and a reminder of the happiness they can build together. Together, they laughed and they cried, and, well, together they  _ lived.  _


End file.
